If Jack Johnson Is Traded, Lombardi Should Set His Hockey Soul Ablaze

I’m still seeing red. I thought I would calm down but last night’s loss was personal. It felt like one of those moments where I was on the ice and no matter how hard I worked, I just could not put it together. You try to limit those days and work hard in practice and in the gym but there are days and nights you just don’t have it and when you’re done, you’re exhausted. The L.A. Kings have had an exhausting season. It’s been a near exhausting three under Terry Murray and the Darryl Sutter’s era appears headed down the same path. I have exhausted my patience with Dean Lombardi.

The irony of all this is that I don’t want Rick Nash for the ransom he will command and I have made that plain. I would not be so arrogant as to call the opposing view (those that want him) stupid (and then claim I wasn’t calling them that, not that I am), but I just don’t see how Lombardi, as exhausting as his stony style may be, could so boldly do something that creates another mouth at the exact location of his ass.

Then I get a text from a friend telling me that Trent Hunter has been waived, which is a prelude to a move…and I read reports that Jack Johnson is “in play”. And then I think maybe all of these years I have listened to Dean Lombardi, I should not have been looking below his nose and above his chin but lower and behind him.

An “L.A. Kings tattoo” is it?

A “commitment to fitness”?

Building “from the back-end, out”?

“Patience” with defensemen?

“Defense wins championships”?

Does any player exemplify those 5 qualities more than Jack Johnson? Be critical of his mistakes on the ice. I will give you that. But is there a player that wears the tattoo more (negotiated his own contract, took a reasonable cap hit and signed long-term), is more committed to fitness (outside of Jonathan Quick, the best athlete on the team), represents the back-end (a top draft pick, young defenseman who comes with world-class genetics and has the potential of being one of the best in the game as he matures), has earned that need for patience (as he continues to tune his defensive acumen to balance out his offensive instincts and skill) and represents the mantra of defense winning championships.

You don’t even have to be a Jack Johnson fan to agree with me – you just have to agree that he represents what Dean Lombardi has preached about his philosophy and core belief system.

If Jack Johnson is part of a package for a one-dimensional (but damn talented) sniper like Rick Nash, Dean Lombardi should take his hockey soul and burn it. You can lie to others I suppose and live with yourself but you cannot lie to yourself without ripping your soul apart, horcruxes notwithstanding. Do not tell me this is a business. Do not tell me there are no loyalties in sports. Do not tell me that intangibles don’t matter. You are only telling me your own perspective. Tell me what you have heard Dean Lombardi state about his perspective, about his valuation of character above all, of honor, of loyalty or a commitment that “builds a culture” within a franchise.

I don’t want to touch the core, but I feel like doughty is the lesser of two evils. Dean’s back is against a wall. If we don’t make it to the playoffs, he’s done. He know this. If nash isn’t traded now, we won’t get someone like that in June. The planets are aligning to make this happen. I hope it’s carter for martinez, bernier, penner. Even though I don’t think carter will do shit. We’d just be trading 2nd line weight

Drew Doughty is the move. He is NONE of the things Lombardi says he values. His contract is way too high and not long enough to even out on the back end.

He is selfish and I’m over the fucking “head shake, long wind up, shot blocked” bullshit. I’m over the turn overs and missed passes.

And if we had no depth at defense, it would be even harder to move DD. But we do. And we play a two way game. If you’re going to open the game up, then keep him. . . but if this is our identity, DREW doesn’t FIT.

Drew would be wrecking balls in Detroit and Detroit is a great model. But we don’t have that model.

We have this model. Two-way defense with D being job one and a killer goalie. We’re a NJ team from early 2000’s. Ya, I know, Neider’s… but we have JJ and VV.

We don’t have the sniper to go with Kopitar and adding that, elevates the whole team. It lets Brown move down, it runs up Kopi’s numbers, it adds Nash’s number at no minus of losing another forward number in the deal and it elevates Richards game by giving him some of Kopi’s line to use.

It let’s the young guys play third line (Nolan and King with Loki).

I’d love to get it done for Bernie and a pick, but it isn’t going to happen. We’ll need a bit more than Nash coming back, but let’s go for it already.

After the hoops he jumped through to sign him and having to justify the money I think Lomardi would sign his own termination papers if he traded him now. Not saying that is the righ thing, but I gotta think that plays into his decision making.

Again, NO, NO, NO, NO and NO!!! DD is not the problem with the Kings, and he’s only 21!!!! If want a Detriot model, you don’t trade DD, you fire coaches and GM’s to aquire someone who is going to open up our game to model around the players you have! DD for anyone is ridiculous! The only player I would even consider moving DD for is maybe Jamie Benn, who in my opinion, is going to lead the league in scoring in 2 or 3 years!

You’re wrong!
The way Doughty handled himself to get his money is an indication of what kind of teammate he is and who he’s playing for..
The answer is himself in case you didn’t know that already!
Move him and use our other young defensive guys more like: Voinov, Hickey and Martinez.
If we aren’t going to trade them or give them a chance at the NHL level what’s the point of drafting, developing and paying these guys so they can go elsewhere for little or nothing!

Look we have a solid d get rid od davis d. And hickey. Friggin put slava on a wing. It can be done remeber when dustin brown was back on defense the first few years. I just think slava has skill and speed and could be that sniper everyone is bitc— about. I guess I am grasping at straws!!! Aghhhhhhhhhhh. /: (

I agree 100% and have caught so much shit from people and I don’t understand why!
Doughty got his money above all else, Johnson got his money without distraction and showed he wanted to be with the Kings.
I respect that alot more than the way Doughty and his
scum-bag agent (Don Meehan) did it.
Like I’ve said before, there are also several other clients of his on the Kings roster right now.
I hope they don’t try to pull the same bullshit as Doughty did.
By now the locker room has to be divided somewhat just because of low moral.
I also think it’s time to move our Captain elsewhere and put another leader in that spot like Kopitar, Johnson or Richards.

Why am I having flashbacks of the whole Daryl Sydor debacle from years back? Another young defenseman we gave up on too early and it bit us in the ass for years to come! Could Martinez or Voynov fill the void? Yeah, but now you reset the learning clock back 5 years and start all over! My guess is we trade JJ for someone like Hemsky and Lombardi is laughed right out of the league.

Johnson last year? Sure, 2 years ago? You betcha. But if you take a long look at his numbers this year, he is doing pretty great offensively on the worst offensive team in the league. Only a point behind Doughty while making a little less than half of what he makes.

Anyone is tradeable (see: Gretzky, Wayne), so if the return is worth it, great. The problem I have is Dean made it clear, at least publicly, that he believes it is a player issue why we aren’t scoring and not a system issue. He couldn’t be further from the truth. It most definitely is a system issue.

I fear Dean is going to make a move to try to save his own ass that may hurt the club somewhat in the long run. Not that they can’t bounce back from it, but trading Jack Johnson just to get a mildly gifted offensive player won’t cut it when the system is designed to fail at scoring.

Just a point of fact, Nash is anything but one-dimensional. He has been an extremely dangerous penalty killer in the past. 9 shorthanded goals over two seasons not that long ago. His defensive abilities should not be underestimated.

Hitchcock used him reglarly on the PK. He was also on the PK, if I’m not mistaken, at the Olympics. If you’re good enough for the Canadian Olympic team, you ought to be good enough for any NHL team.

He’s been under-utilized defensively since Hitch was kicked to the curb a couple years back.

Really? His hold out is keeping the kings from scoring? Hm leading all D again in points is what is keeping the kings from winning? Who leads the kings in minus? Jack Johnson does, once again. To spell it out for you DD on the ice the kings score, JJ on the ice the kings get scored on.

“You can lie to others I suppose and live with yourself but you cannot lie to yourself without ripping your soul apart, horcruxes notwithstanding … Tell me what you have heard Dean Lombardi state about his perspective, about his valuation of character above all, of honor, of loyalty or a commitment that “builds a culture” within a franchise.”

… I’m a little surprised so many took that whole “winning culture” thing with Dean seriously. All of those little slogans (or whatever they are) remind me of someone running for political office, someone who has little or no intention of actually living up to them once he’s where he wants to be. Lombardi was given more latitude to do what he wanted to do than any other GM in this franchise’s history. He inherited some fine young players on the team and in the system, he was permitted to blow up the rest of the team, and trusted to build the team in his image. Well, this is his image of a team. This is what he wanted.

Once again, we’ve gone well past the idealistic stage of Lombardi’s tenure with the Kings. We’re at the job preservation stage, now. At this point, anyone and everyone is in danger of being traded or otherwise disposed of, if Lombardi feels it will buy him more time. So many months ago, Dean traded for Richards as an act of desperation. It got him what he wanted – short-term praise, short-term euphoria, short-term glory. Now, it’s biting him in the ass, and will continue to bite the Kings in the ass for years and years down the road. From that point forward, I’ve said more than once that I’ve stopped trusting Dean to make a good trade for this franchise. If the Kings make a deal before the trade deadline, you can put money on it being a poor one for this team. It’s not about the team anymore. It’s about the GM keeping his spot for another year … just like in government, where it isn’t about the country nearly as much as it’s about keeping individual spots. I should start calling Dean “Senator Lombardi” from now on.

So many months ago, Dean traded for Richards as an act of desperation. It got him what he wanted – short-term praise, short-term euphoria, short-term glory. Now, it’s biting him in the ass, and will continue to bite the Kings in the ass for years and years down the road.

I have a feeling you are assuming Simmonds would be enjoying success here had he stayed. I argue that Simmonds, while great in his own right, would not have nearly the season he is having on this team. Just as Richards was a product of his time with the Flyers and their skill and ferocity, so to is Simmonds now. I have watched with my own eyes the Kings snuff out much of the light Richards brought with him when he arrived.

There is a serious problem and the trade doesn’t look good because of that problem but the problem has nothing to do with that trade.

“So does that mean Hartnell is just as good as Kopitar because they have the same amount of points?”

… Did I say that? What did I actually say? Would Simmonds and Schenn not have 28 points between the two of them if they were on this team?

I also like your little diatribe down there as well. You don’t believe Schenn and Simmonds would see second line minutes here, or power play time here? If they didn’t, that would be the a coaching issue here, wouldn’t it? I don’t see where the Kings come out ahead on the trade because they wouldn’t have known what to do with Schenn and Simmonds if they still had them.

“What my point is, who is to say Mike Richards wouldn’t have scored more points than both of them combined if he was still on the Flyers?”

… Simmonds and Schenn have 28 goals and 47 points at this point. If you want to say Richards would have more than 28 goals by himself at this point (when his career high for a season is 31), be my guest.

You mentioned goals and points. Don’t try to turn this into “I said only goals” so you can try to win an argument hour.

I simply said who is to say Richards wouldn’t have as many points as both of them combined. I don’t care about goals, I care about points because the two directly correlate with each other. Richards having 47 points at this point on the Flyers is entirely possible given his past years totals.

You don’t think that the two of them collectively would be good for at least 14 goals and 28 points thus far?

The way this season is going? That’s about as much as I think they’d have. In this hypothetical, the Kings’ offense still sucks so Schenn is lucky to have 2-4 goals and 5-8 assists and Simmonds would have 5-7 goals and 10-12 assists. That’s what, 7-11 goals and 15-20 assists, so 22-31 points total?

You aren’t giving the Flyer’s offense enough credit here dude. It’s not like Richards came here and forgot how to score. And whether Richards would score MORE than the both of them isn’t the point. The point is that we had a huge hole at 2nd line center and Richards was about as perfect a fit as you could get for that right now. You can make the argument that it would have been better to hang onto Schenn and hope he could fill it later on down the line and that Simmonds still had a lot of room to grow and therefore it was a bad trade, but making that argument around the fact that Simmonds and Schenn are scoring more than Richards when they play on an offensive dynamo and the Kings as a whole are dead fucking last in the league is ridiculous. Replacing Richards with Simmonds and Schenn DOES NOT SOLVE THE OFFENSIVE PROBLEM.

… Yeah, I am. They’ve scored 56% more goals than the Kings have. Simmonds and Schenn have scored 68% more points than Richards has, and 100% more goals.

And I’m not even accounting for the fact that Richards plays 18 minutes a game, while Simmonds has played 16 a game and Schenn 14 a game, nor am I even accounting for the fact that Schenn’s only played half the season. If I wanted to break it down like that, the margin would be that much larger.

“The point is that we had a huge hole at 2nd line center and Richards was about as perfect a fit as you could get for that right now.”

… Oh, for sure. I mean, look at how much the team has improved! It’s been perfect.

“You can make the argument that it would have been better to hang onto Schenn and hope he could fill it later on down the line and that Simmonds still had a lot of room to grow”

… I’ve made the argument that it was better to keep the two younger players because they had as much or more to offer than Richards individually, and they had better days ahead of them on top of that. They both have room to grow. That’s the point. It’s not like the Kings were, or are, contending for anything at all. What better situation to let them grow?

“Replacing Richards with Simmonds and Schenn DOES NOT SOLVE THE OFFENSIVE PROBLEM.”

… Neither did dumping them off and acquiring Richards. What’s your point? Just because the Kings are inept doesn’t all of a sudden make the trade a good one. It’s still a bad one, one made out of desperation to save a job, one made on the false assertion that the Kings were ready to contend for anything this season. “Win now” moves have rarely worked in any sport, and they haven’t worked for the Kings in all the years I’ve followed the team (and in the years before my time).

Those stats you bring up are once again from the number one scoring team in the NHL versus the last place team in the NHL.

Mike RIchards scores more points than both of them combined if he is on the Flyers. Simple math would prove so.

You also bring up that Schenn and Simmonds play what, 12 more minutes a game than Richards as if somehow that is a detriment to Richards?

Once again… Richards + Gagne > Schenn + Simmonds.

You don’t answer the questions that make your point null. You are simply a politician only making light of what you want others to believe and see while hiding away and not answering anything that proves you wrong.

The troll who is constantly inconsistent with his view point day by day says I am trolling and obsessed with you.

Try I just don’t like you, and I call you out on your inconsistencies.

So you resort to childish rhetoric to once again make yourself sound like an adult.

Sorry pal, you may fool others, you definitely don’t fool me.

Care to explain to me how you are a Kings fan when you generally have nothing positive to say about the Kings as a group or individually ever? Besides your love for Doughty who has shown little development this year. You have all the answers don’t you? Why aren’t you GM?

There is no way you believe everything you say because half the time you argue from a perspective of being opposite of the crowd and you’ve consistently changed certain points of view you have based on the general consensus.

JT, it’s barely in the realm of possibility that Simmonds and Schenn combined wouldn’t have 14 goals and 28 points. That means Simmer is on his 9 or so that he’s had every year at this point as a King, and Schenn would have 5. And he’s good enough that even playing on a third line he would’ve managed that I have to believe. Worse than that from the two combined would be hard to imagine.

I’m actually surprised JT would post horseshit like that. I don’t ever agree with the guy, but he is usually one to look deeper into stats.

A majority of the time, anyone worth anything who comes to the Kings has their production drop and anyone that leaves the Kings has their production go up.

Just because Simmonds is doing well in Philly doesn’t mean he would have had the same success here. Having second line minutes on the #1 goal scoring team in the league, plus having PP time, obviously contributes to his increase in numbers.

Over a third of his points are PP points. How much time did Simmonds log on the PP as a King? Take those points away from him, and he is averaging less ppg than he did in his most productive season as a King in 09-10, but more than his other 2 less productive years. Simmonds’ points are a result in large part to his PP time which he had little of as a King and the PP sucks anyways obviously.

If our offense improved even just a little, meaning if we actually had coaches who knew how to plan an attack on the other side of the red line, we’d be much better off then we are now and I doubt you’d be saying anything about Richards. Who have his line mates been so far this year? The list is as long as this essay I wrote.

I didn’t understand it as JT saying that Simmonds would be doing just as well. He didn’t write that. What I read was that the combination of Schenn and Simmonds would probably add up to the totals of what Richards has at the moment.

It’s possible that they wouldn’t, but likely that Simmer would have been moved to a second line this year and hard to imagine that the two of them would have lower totals combined than Richards has singularly.

Drew, for one Schenn probably wouldn’t have seen much action this year in a Kings uniform, and the other reason is because the Kings are the lowest scoring team in the NHL, so why am I to believe that Simmonds would keep his pace up on the Kings, when he got barely and PP time on the Kings and is a focal point of the Flyers PP, where he has recorded over a 1/3 of his points from? Take away Simmonds PP points, and he is barely above his averages as a King. Richards would still be ahead of both of them

Wow, that’s a lot of love for a defensemant that has the worst +/- stats in teams history…almost…sorta…on a team that is built around defense. I’d have no problem letting him go for a Nash-type player.

Do you want Jack on the ice in a 1 goal game in the final minute? With his cap hit he should be a defenseman that you count on to hold a lead. I would rather have Doughty, Scuderi, Mitchell and Voynov on the ice before Jack in a 1 goal game with a minute to go.

When is Jack going to put it together? He’s 25, has played 340 regular season NHL games and in his 6th full season. He’s a minus 88 in his career, you can’t just ignore that completely. He again the worst on the team at a -10. At least he has some company with Martinez at -6. Last year Jack was the only regular defenseman that was a minus. He’s a PP specialist.

Sydor was traded for Doug Zmolek and Chane Churla, not exactly a great trade by the Kings. Jack for Nash is a good trade for both teams. Kings have defensive prospects coming out their ass and they need a top line winger.

I don’t believe he is just a PP specialist. You focus on Jack’s mistakes which are 10% of his game. I focus on the 90% that he is outstanding. Just like Doughty. Do I get aggravated with JJ? Sure. Just like Doughty. Do I want to see them anywhere but this team and part of this team’s core D? Hell no. Puck moving D man with size, speed, strength and natural O instincts are hard to find.

Yes, I am still going to the game. And I cannot remember the offer…remind me.

Regarding Parise, he’s going to be a Red Wing. I have made peace with that…as is Weber…I have made peace with the fact that God is a Red Wings fan.

As for Nash, what is the question again? Oh, is Lombardi a moron with his drafting and development of top 6 forwards and the waste of the others who have offensive upside by hiring relics like Terry Murray? Yes. The answer to your question is yes.

No, only some of the newer fans who post on LAKI are convinced that Parise will sign with the Kings. The rest of us know he won’t.

Also am on Bobby’s train wrt Lombardi’s drafting and development of top 6 forwards. I went thru a list this a.m. of guys who were available when he drafted in the first and second rounds three-four years running, and it’s pretty depressing if truth be told.

Everybody bangs on about Giroux. Forget Giroux! Everyone makes mistakes. How about Milan Lucic (DL likes tough players), Brad Marchand, Logan Couture, Jordan Eberle was drafted 9 spots after DL drafted Colten Teubert. Max Pacioretty, David Perron and on and on. There are a handful more. He likes a certain type of player and those types of players aren’t high table offensive threats, then he finds himself in a situation where he has to trade away lots of assets to get one…. w an unknown result when he could use one draft pick. Result still unknown, but at least you don’t end up paying for an exorbitant contract nor three or four assets to get it.

… I actually agree that Jack would be best on the bottom pairing at 5-on-5 as well. Whether he can be traded away and replaced from within is another story. Martinez would be the logical choice, as he’s a lefty shot and seems to have offensive potential. Alec has played well this season in my view, but he hasn’t been out there against tough competition. Would his game fall apart if he were? There would be only one way to find out, I suppose.

You have to give something to get something, trump everything that Lombardi has stated in the past about building from the back-end out. Having the world’s best defense doesn’t do you a damn bit of good, if you can’t score _at least_ 1 goal EVERY GAME.

BTW, can somebody tell me why if you’re losing 1-0 with 1:30 left in the 3rd and and you have an offensive zone face-off. Why don’t you pull your goalie at that time for the extra attacker?

I actually meant the earlier face-off 1:38 remaining. The Kings were actually very lucky that Rosizval took that penalty, so they could make up for the mistake of not pulling Quick at 1:38 remaining. Otherwise, it’s another 20 seconds before the extra attacker comes into play.

Not that it matters, either way. At this point the Kings could outnumber their opponents 2 to 1 in the offensive zone and they still wouldn’t score.

I think these guys just don’t care. Hey they come in and play win or lose they go home to very large comfy homes. They don’t struggle personally at all. See the economy really really bad. Us fans we look forward to seeing a game having our team win. Those guy don’t give a rats a– that it took a family half a year to be able to actually go to a game. They don’t have the struggle of pay the house payment and the worry about buy milk and you meds. They just don’t get it. It is easy to go to a childerns hospital and visit sick kids. Makes them look good. What about the kids with disability ‘s that are not sen with the naked eye. Hell owners don’t care a autistic kids sends a letter to the captain of the team and they fail to give this info to him. These guys get their checks have beautiful homes no worries for them big let down for the struggling die hard fan.

Also, got the TB game back here on NBCSC and watched Jack a few times taking the puck up out of his own end and I just thought ‘wow, that guy really has something’. You could just see the strength and skill he possessed. It was nothing earth shaking, but the foundation of the talent he possesses.

Has his plus minus been a drag lately? Yes, but consider that it’s gotten a bit better this year and if the team actually had maybe more than two forwards who will score 20 goals this year, his +/- would probably be by far the best it’s ever been in his career.

You’re criticizing him for potentially straying from it with a Nash trade. But the thing is, his philosophy hasnt worked. Thats why you stray from it! It hasnt worked. It’s as simple as this. Who can you replace more easily, Jack Johnson or Rick Nash? In other words, if you trade Johnson for Nash, you can at least plug in Voynov for Johnson and still be solid on D, but if you don’t acquire Nash, the Kings have absolutely no one who can fill that goal scoring role.

In other words, let’s say Voynov can give you 70% of what JJ can, for example. That means you trade for Nash unless there’s someone you can slot in from the farm who can give you 70% or more of what Nash can.

And there’s no one. First of all, Voynov’s % might be higher than 70%, and really there is no one on the Kings farm who can even come close to that concerning Nash.

Same concept for Bernier. He’s the backup goaltender. Even finding someone like a Martin Biron comparable, I mean hes BETTER than Bernier right now, at least his performances have been.

Jack Johnson can be replaced by Voynov. Jonathan Bernier, the BACKUP, can be replaced by any other half-decent backup.

No one can come in and bring anything close to Rick Nash, besides Rick Nash (or Jeff Carter). That’s why you have to get Nash (or Carter. Like i said in the other thread maybe, considering the asking price and cap hit, Jeff Carter is still actually the best option. That’s the debate we should be having, Carter or Nash? Not no one. You have to get SOMEONE.)

I can live with Carter. Between the two, I would rather have Carter because (if the talk is true) he can be had for a back of pucks (Read: Penner and something). We don’t gut the D and we get our sniper. Done and done. I got real warm and fuzzy with Carter when I heard that Nash was available. Scared me straight :)

Jeff Carter may still actually be the best option is what that should say. Not is. May be. I’m on the fence. I think the contract length concerns for Carter is overblown, especially because you can always buy him out with almost no penalty near the end of his contract, and everything else about him is fantastic, from talent, versatility in talent (means he can score all ways, and if you take away one thing from him hes one of the rare NHL players who can still produce just as well by doing it another way because he has speed AND size and skill), and hes a top line player. And hes available for very little (allegedly).

Rick Nash, to me, is a worse deal in practically every area, except for the fact he’s Rick Nash. And everything I said about Carter’s talent versatility is true to the nth degree with Rick Nash. There are only a few players my personal eye for talent sees in that way. There is Evgeni Malkin, Eric Staal, and Rick Nash. There are other bigger guys with skill, like Anze Kopitar and Joe Thornton, and other two way guys with skill like Jonathan Toews, or just other super dynamic and versatile weapons like Pavel Datsyuk, but all of them I feel are at least missing one thing or another. Thornton and Kopitar protect the puck really well, but theyre not pure goal scorers, they dont have that 40 goal skillset. Toews does, but he’s not big enough, the reach isn’t long enough, he could even be a bit faster. He has every skill you would want in a 120 point player, only he’s an A- in all of those skills instead of an A+, and that’s why he’s an 80 point guy not a 120 point guy.

Datsyuk definitely has those A+ areas and more, but he doesn’t have the size or top speed some of these other guys do. He’s Steve Nash to Rick Nash’s Lebron James (that confusing enough for you?). I heard a quote Datsyuk says he’s been banged up the last few years, but he wasn’t going to rest and get better in the offseason just because he has so much to do in the offseason, so much he wants to do, it’s not a priority. His health, his game, is not a priority, at least not over the offseason. And deep in the playoffs, that can become an issue. Sort of a separate topic though. Anyway he doesnt have the size you would want in your perfect player.

Rick Nash and Eric Staal, and of course Malkin on the next level even, Ive always really liked for having absolutely every physical offensive tool, and having it at an A+ level, for the most part. Granted, Rick Nash does not have the trickery or the hockey sense brilliance of Datsyuk. No one does. That’s why Datsyuk can be an elite player without Nash’s size, for example. But what Datsyuk can’t be is the goal scorer Nash is. In this day and age in the NHL, cleverness and trickery only get you so far. You need to have dominant physical talent these days to score 40-50 goals. Nash is that guy. He’s not on Malkin’s level, neither is Staal, but he’s as close as you’re ever going to get. Carter would be one of the next guys down, even though the way he skates or holds his stick or whatever isn’t the same as Malkin (or to a lesser extent Nash) does.

Anyway the point is a player like Nash, you’re getting very close to the pinnacle of skill when it comes to NHL snipers. You will never find better than him available. You’re asking for like Malkin himself, for Ovechkin combined with the hope that he returns to his prime. Even Stamkos doesn’t have the size and dominant physical attributes of Nash, ditto Giroux, Kessel. I personally think you’re really lucky to even have a shot at someone like Nash without drafting him yourself. It’s crazy he’s even available, at least a player of his talent level. Maybe with the cap hit entering into the conversation it makes a bit more sense.

Ive maintained the Kings are lucky that someone as good as Carter is available, let alone Nash. There is much more talent available this deadline, theoretically available anyway, than there usually is. I think this is the Kings opportunity, this deadline, to really fix the longstanding roster holes they have. Players this good wont be available again in the near future, most likely. Maybe a Bobby Ryan (who isnt as good as Nash) but they wont trade him to the Kings, I doubt.

This is the Kings opportunity. I honestly am thinking, fuck it, Johnson is good, but you can replace him immediately with Voynov (or just bring in a defensive guy, you could improve defensively in that roster spot for much less money than JJ got, and so the loss offensively might actually even out), and since he’s only good, not a superstar, you can replace him for good eventually.

There will be other Jack Johnson’s available to the Kings at some point. There will be other good young backup goaltenders.

There will not be another Rick Nash available to the Kings. So even though Im a Carter fan, and Carter is cheaper to get, I say you have to get Nash. He is the type of player who transforms a team. He is a building block. More than Kopitar, even. More than Doughty. This is one of the most complete and dynamic forwards in the NHL, immediately the Kings new franchise player. You get this guy if you can, my two cents.

Well, I have to say that I don’t have faith in him to make ‘the right’ deal. One thing if you get a game changer and give up parts that aren’t gonna turn into stars. But the way it’s gone lately for Lombardi it’s been rather the opposite.

In any case, he hasn’t made one even semi decent trade or move since he got Justin Williams.

Hunter put on waivers, Moreau plays in the AHL, Penner stuffs his face with pancakes and sits on the pot all day, Gagne goes down with “concussion like” symptoms. The team is near the salary cap and is DFL in scoring the entire season. Way to go Mr Lombardi! A job well done! How about another contract extension??

What brain dead thing will he do this time around? Will someone show this idiot the door this guy’s time is done and take the GD trash out on the way out!

My main question about any deal is less about who comes and and who’s traded verses the general play philosophy. If Mike Cammalleri, Matt Moulson, and Teddy Purcell do so much better anywhere else what makes anyone think Rick Nash or Jeff Carter will thrive in LA? I think DL has proven he can’t make good deadline deals and shouldn’t unless he is going to unload salary for either picks or good 3rd line people. No you won’t win but I can’t see this team winning the Cup with one sniper anyway!

Either this team has a hex or extremely bad chemistry, or both. Watching last nights game was insane. They had changes and I swear I’ve never seen so many chances by one team miss in so many ways. It’s incredibly frustrating.

Only way I move JJ is in a trade for Nash (or a bunch of other top shelf snipers which aren’t a possibility). It would make me sad as shit, but I’d eventually accept it and closet root for the Blue Jackets as often as I could without detriment to the Kings. I’m as big a fan of JJ as there is but you gotta give to get.

Now, if he trades him for (another) injured Flyer (JVR)… well lets just say i’ll start the emails goin.

I too, would rather keep Johnson over Doughty if I was only allowed to keep one. Yes, Johnson does have his on ice problems. However, I believe he is the more loyal to this organization than Doughty is. Remember that Doughty was claiming before he was drafted that he was a Kings fan growing up. Now if you are drafted by your childhood favorite team that has never won a championship, you would do anything to see your favorite team that you are now apart of to reach the ultimate prize. This would include resigning for a reasonable contract so you don’t take up cap space. That cap space could be used to sign some talented players who would be the key pieces. I forgot which show it was on, however, it was probably on the NHL network at the begginning of the 06-07 season. There was an interview with Teemu Selane. He said that he took a salary cut and convinced others to do the same to clear the cap space for Pronger?and Niedermeyer? Look what happened the following June. Well, if Pronger and Nieds where not the players, Teemu re negotiated his contract for the helping talent. If Doughty claims the Kings was his childhood team, then he MUST be Hellbent to see them win Lord Fredrick Stanley’s Cup. First place he needs to look is the cap space he takes up. Now,let’s hope that Don Mehan is NOT Jonathan Quck’s agent.

Do you ever hear about loyalty when it comes to Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, David Krejci (definitely didnt take a home town discount), Michael Ryder who bolted after the Cup win last year for Boston…

Loyalty is BS. Its worthless. Loyalty is having a 20 million contract, and a home, and a life, that all tie you down to one city. The only loyalty, or lack of loyalty, you ever need to worry about is if a player hates playing for you and wants to leave. Otherwise, who cares? The best players win you hockey games. Good players. If Jack Johnson is more loyal than Doughty, and loyalty matters to performance, why isnt JJ a better player than Doughty? Because Doughty has more talent, even with 50 doughnuts in him.

From watching interviews, Jack Johnson is one of my favorite Kings. Seems the most down to earth, just a good guy.

But I dont let that cloud my judgement. If there’s a deal that helps the team where he has to be part of the package, hes gone.

Letting loyalty to players get in the way of deals has already dug Dean Lombardi into this ditch. Hes going to need to stop thinking that way, constantly looking at “character” and all this other BS and start looking at talent. Guess what, Ive had bad character before, usually when Im in bad situations, feeling like Im not being treated right or appreciated, and Ive had good character other times. I usually have good character, thats who I am, Im a decent human being, but that doesnt mean Im perfect and immune to making mistakes or slacking off when Im unhappy.

The problem with the NHL is once you do something like that once, even if you were an 18 year old kid that didnt know better, 10 years later, you still have a reputation as lazy, or bad character.

And its almost always completely overblown. All it serves to do is keep GMs from acquiring talented players who they really should. You can bring in someone who apparently is a bad teammate, but if you have a good locker room, and his teammates welcome in, befriend him, he will behave, and he will want to be a good teammate back to them, too.

Unfortunately Dean Lombardi doesnt seem to realize this. He completely passes on guys because of some dumb reputation. Id rather look at the talent, the work ethic. Ilya Kovalchuk is a fucking elite athlete, and he got that way by working as hard as anyone, getting into fantastic shape. But hes russian, and supposedly seflish, and bad character.

But Mike Richards, the ultimate leader, blah blah blah, is not half the athlete Kovalchuk is. But Dean Lombardi favored Richards? Whether it has anything to do with his drinking or not, Richards is not in good enough shape. Hes clearly not as physical or as fast as he was early in his career. He slacked.

Thats work ethic, off the ice. Thats what you can see with your own eyes. Id rather base my personnel decisions on that, how talented the player is, how good of shape he is in (which speaks to his work ethic), than hearing through the grape vine whether he’s a leader or not. Because clearly its BS. Mike Richards has scored how many goals in the last 20-30 games? Hes not bringing it at all, not taking over games at all. Kovalchuk does.